‘Miracle March’: Sierra Nevada pummeled by feet of snow: “Heavy snow will continue to pummel California’s Sierra Nevada through Tuesday, a “Miracle March” that could replenish vital, water-providing snowpack after a record-dry February. This is being caused by a slow-moving low-pressure system that will remain near California’s coast through Tuesday before it targets the Desert Southwest, Rockies, Plains and upper Midwest later this week. Snow began in the Sierra on Saturday and it will continue to create major travel headaches into Monday. ... ” Read more from The Weather Channel here: ‘Miracle March’: California’s Sierra Nevada pummeled by feet of snow
March’s wet weather continues Monday with a cold winter storm: “A few days away from the start of spring, Southern California is due another winter storm with wet weather on the way and chilly temperatures. Monday will be the wetteset day, as rain arrives in Ventura County early and moves into LA County by midday. Rain accumulations will vary depending on region, with Ventura County seeing between .5 and 1.5 inches of rain, while the rest of the region picks up .25 to .75 inches. … ” Read more from NBC LA here: March’s wet weather continues Monday with a cold winter storm
Lithium startup backed by Bill Gates seeks a breakthrough at the Salton Sea: “David Snydacker knew going in that California’s Imperial Valley was a “graveyard for lithium-extraction technologies.” For years, companies had tried and failed to find a cost-effective way to pull the valuable mineral — a key ingredient in the batteries that power electric cars — from the naturally heated fluid deep beneath the Salton Sea. One of the most recent busts was Simbol Materials, a much-hyped startup that collapsed in 2015 shortly after Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. offered to buy the firm for $325 million. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Lithium startup backed by Bill Gates seeks a breakthrough at the Salton Sea
Oceanside hopes to kick-start sand projects delayed by federal government: “Oceanside without sand would be like Yosemite without Half Dome or Niagra Falls without the water. The problem is, Oceanside’s sand keeps disappearing. Coastal erosion is eating away the city’s beaches at an increasing pace. The sandy shore where people pitched their tents and parked their cars decades ago, as historical photos show, is now down to a narrow strip of rocks in many places. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune here: Oceanside hopes to kick-start sand projects delayed by federal government
Tensions emerge as a top Arizona official discusses tribes’ unresolved water claims: “Many of Arizona’s Native tribes have long-standing claims to water rights that haven’t yet been settled, and a discussion of efforts to negotiate possible agreements took center stage at a meeting of Gov. Doug Ducey’s water council. The meeting grew tense after Arizona’s top water official gave a presentation on the status of tribes’ unresolved water claims, and then didn’t allow leaders of four tribes to speak. Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke said he sent letters a week ago to all 22 federally recognized tribes in Arizona inviting them to speak about the issue at upcoming meetings later this year. … ” Read more from Arizona Central here: Tensions emerge as a top Arizona official discusses tribes’ unresolved water claims
This Week in Water: “Congress is urging utilities across the country not to shut off water to customers with delinquent accounts in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. Dissolved organic carbon will be a problem for half of the world’s population. Los Angeles is looking to the Navajo to provide electricity from wind and solar. Noisy ocean vessels leave crabs too stressed to hide from danger. This singer just got a bug named after her. It was “born this way.” Listen/read at H2o Radio here: This Week in Water
Fishing for fun? It has a bigger environmental impact than we thought: “Let’s go fishin’! After all, a lone angler fishing from a dock or a few friends going out to sea can’t have all that much of an effect on fish populations … right? Think again. “When you’re floating in the open ocean, it can be hard to imagine that your hobby will have an impact on the overall health of a fishery,” says Sepp Haukebo, who works on recreational fisheries conservation issues for the Environmental Defense Fund. “But multiply the number of fish a single angler catches and discards in a day by millions of anglers and you have a significant harvest on your hands.” ... ” Read more from The Revelator here: Fishing for fun? It has a bigger environmental impact than we thought
DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: Double-edged sword of stormy weather targets CA; Building recharge basins to boost resilience for farmers and birds alike; Lawmakers told Trump’s new water rules will push salmon closer to extinction; and more …
Posted announcements …
- SWP CONTRACT AMENDMENT: Negotiations to extend into April
- ANNOUNCEMENT: 2020 Website Relaunch – California Salmon Snapshots is now the State of Salmon in California
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: 2020 Proposal Solicitation Notice (PSN) for the Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program
- REMINDER: Delta Conveyance Project scoping comment period closes on Friday
Image credit: CA streamflow assessment map, courtesy of Belize Lane. From this paper: Lane, B. A., Dahlke, H. E., Pasternack, G. B., & Sandoval‐Solis, S. (2017). Revealing the diversity of natural hydrologic regimes in California with relevance for environmental flows applications. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 53(2), 411-430.
